Monthly Archives: April 2015

To me, blogging is about being a part of something larger than myself. Whenever I post, I go into it knowing that I’m writing an article or sharing a picture that then becomes a small piece in this much larger community of fans and other writers, mostly food lovers like myself.

In fact, if there are pros about the ubiquitous of the internet and social media (and there are pros), one of them has to be that it connects these widespread groups of people across physical spaces, it connects people with common interests but maybe nowhere to showcase or enjoy those interests in their physical environments. The internet, and blogs, create amazing communities of people who are eager to share, comment, collaborate and explore together.

As a blogger, I look to others’ posts for inspiration (and of course give credit accordingly). In the same vein, I rely on the kindness of others to like and share my content for others to enjoy.

I just want to show people great food, but in order to do that, I need all of you to spread the word! If you like something that I post, like it, link it, share it. The only way to create an online community is to create connections and there’s nothing like a simple hyperlink to bring lots of food-related happiness to people all over the world!

I wanted to update you all with a new smoothie recipe. Having had some practice concocting smoothies, I decided to mix some different things together and I was super pleased with the result. What a great snack (and great reading material too)!

Recipe:

Handful of spinach

1 medium banana

1 cup of frozen mango

1/4 tsp. of vanilla extract

1 stevia packet

2/3 cup of liquid (I did 1/3 cup of skim milk and 1/3 cup of water)

P.S.: Sorry the picture isn’t so pretty but I was starving and the smoothie was so good that I couldn’t wait any longer!

Let me preface by warning you that this post has nothing to do with food. However, it does have to do with something almost as awesome…

Harry Potter.

Make fun all you want but I grew up obsessing over the books and movies; I believe that reading Harry Potter books is when I first developed a love of reading (and eventually writing). So, when I found out that I had to use GoAnimate to create a short clip from a movie of my choosing, the choice was easy.

I chose to *attempt* to animate the iconic scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Hagrid tells Harry that he’s a wizard. This scene defines the entire series, after all.

Honestly, though I made a good effort, I feel like my animation doesn’t live up to the high expectations that I set for myself. First of all, I personally didn’t enjoy using GoAnimate; I can’t pinpoint exactly why but I never felt comfortable on it even though it took me a very long time to create this really short scene. Also, while this is not the software’s fault, I had trouble finding characters and scenes that fit the look I was going for. Perhaps that’s what you get for using the free account rather than upgrading. Do I think I would use this software again? No, not willingly but it was a good experience!

I know it might not seem like it, but summer is just around the corner. Doesn’t that make you feel warm and fuzzy? I smile like a moron when I’m sitting in class and this fact dawns on me. Being that I’m a food lover, it probably doesn’t surprise any of you that, when I imagine summer, I imagine all of the delicious food I’ll be eating soon.

I think that everyone associates food with certain memories and certain times of year. For instance, when I think of latkes, my mind goes straight to my fondest Hanukkah memories. When I think of turkey and mashed potatoes, I’m transported to the Thanksgiving table instantly.

The summer is no different.

I’m a summer girl at heart and I associate so many amazing memories of summer with food. I can almost piece together the tastes that go along with specific memories, that’s just how I think (it’s the foodie in me).

So here’s a few of my favorite summer foods. I hope they make you as excited as I am to head into the warmer months and sit by the beach with my sunnies on.

I don’t know about you, but I think this picture is glorious. To me, there’s absolutely nothing better than sitting on a picnic blanket at a barbeque and eating one of these juicy bad boys off a paper plate. Here are some creative burger recipes to try this summer: http://fd.cm/1JtTqax.

Does that not look amazing? Eating a soft serve ice cream cone always takes me back to warm summer nights at the beach, enjoying a snack after dinner. My favorite flavor as a kid? Chocolate with gummy bears (don’t judge).

Besides being two amazing places to visit during the summer, the county fair and New Jersey boardwalks have one important thing in common: an endless variety of creative fried foods to snack on. Why not try a sugary funnel cake, a fried Oreo, a fried Snickers bar, a fried…fry? You get my drift.

In trying to figure out what kind of a picture to post, I came across this amazing smoothie image. You always know when a picture of food is good because it makes you crave whatever is in it. And after looking at this picture, I was ready to whip up a smoothie!

I found this picture on Flickr through the Creative Commons Search Engine. The picture is associated with an attribution restriction. This basically means that I can share the picture, and even edit it to an extent, but I must give appropriate credit to the creator of the image and cite whether I changed the image in any way.

Also, according to the Fair Use Checklist, I can use this image because it is for reasons related to scholarship; basically, it’s okay because this is a school project and not a for-profit enterprise. Related to this point, I can also use this image according to Fair Use because my posting it will have little to no effect on the market for the picture; essentially, my limited audience, which mostly consists of peers in the class, won’t really impact the economic potential of the picture.

Now that I’ve established that I can rightfully use this picture, let’s get to the smoothies! Check out some of my favorite recipes here, here and here!